been think of selling my trailer

ArkansasDon

Adventurist
Been pondering the fact of selling my trailer & purchase a tear drop style trailer. I found a company in Florida that builds a tear drop style overland trailer out of "all" aluminum. The wife & I like what we see & have had a few phone calls. The Wrangler X is what we are looking at.
http://www.weeroll.com/off-roadI'll hang on to my current trailer until I get this one.
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Been pondering the fact of selling my trailer & purchase a tear drop style trailer. I found a company in Florida that builds a tear drop style overland trailer out of "all" aluminum. The wife & I like what we see & have had a few phone calls. The Wrangler X is what we are looking at.
http://www.weeroll.com/off-roadI'll hang on to my current trailer until I get this one. View attachment 38246

I've been throwing together some plans in Sketch-up to start building my own off road tear drop. Ironically my design is almost identical to the Wrangler X in both design and dimensions. Only major difference is I'd be using birch and worrying about waterproofing and these guys have that problem solved with the aluminum. I'm really liking the look of these. I'll be interested to see what you think if you move forward with the purchase.
 
I am looking into the future for us. I'm 58 yrs old the wife is 66yrs old. I know Sally's days are numbered as of climbing a ladder w\ RTT. We enjoy our current trailer & the RTT, especially with the new mattress. I like the fact nothing will rot on this tear drop. I figure I would finish the interior the way we want it while still using our current trailer w\RTT. We plan on purchasing the Wrangler X by September of this year. This way it will give me until next year to do what I want to do for the interior, awnings & solar.
 
We're looking at teardrops as we move away from roof top tents too. I've sold off my tent and trailer and I've honed down our camping gear a bit. Our setup was just getting too large and complicated. @Scott B. and his setup were a huge influence for making the move. Being able to pull up somewhere and almost instantly be done with setup has some huge appeal. Our full setup was quite heavy as well and weighed on our fuel economy. This Wrangler X is the lightest thing I've seen on the market thus far.
 
I've collected a bit of MPG information of using a teardrop that might be interesting for folks considering one.

My 2016 4Runner gets ~17 MPG for all-around use. I'm retired and don't commute. So some of this is highway, some around town, and some rural 2-lane.

Last September, I drove to Indianapolis to pick up my Hiker Trailer 5X8 Deluxe (the non-off road version.) It happened to be a weekend with relatively no wind. I filled up at home, drove ~350 miles to Indianapolis, and filled up again. I got 17.6 MPG (actual calculation, not the truck's computer.) I then picked up the trailer, drove home, and filled up again. This trip I got 16.7 MPG, or a 0.9 MPG hit for the empty trailer. Being lower and narrower than the 4Runner, it didn't need to push through the wind very much. This was all Interstate at about 65 MPH on flat ground.

A month later, I mounted my RTT on top of the trailer, and pulled it to my brother's barn, about 150 miles away. Again, a relatively wind free day, and a full tank. I got 13.4 MPG on this trip! There was maybe 200# of stuff in the trailer, but the biggest hit was the big brick on top of the trailer catching the wind. I'd have thought that far back, it would be in the truck's wind shadow, but apparently not. The return trip home yielded ~17 MPG (I didn't fill up for a couple of days, so don't have the exact numbers.) This was on rural 2-lane roads at about 50-55 MPH on flat ground.

Now, I realize that for off road use, MPG difference would likely be insignificant. But for me, being 300-2000 miles from any place interesting to explore, 3 MPG makes a big difference. Last year's 7000 mile road trip would have made about $200 difference in fuel cost.

As always, YMMV
 
I've been looking for a while, do not get me wrong I like my current one a lot, but as Sally & I get older we want to think ahead about mobility getting in or out especially them late night bathroom runs.
The tow vehicle is 2000 GMC z71 4x4 1\2 ton. 4L60E transmission is performance built, basically a stock 5.3 motor w\ performance chip & 373 gear ratio, dual Full Boar exhaust, I get 16.5 mpg w\ the current trailer & RTT in tow. Stock height w\ Rancho RS 5000 shocks w\ 265\75R\16 General Grabber AT. My current trailer w\gear is 1,238lbs, that includes 21 gals of water.

The information Steve is appreciated.
 
Good info Steve! Our previous setup with the M101A2 trailer and roof top tent + gear probably weighed in close to 2000 lbs I'm guessing. Pulling it with my stock 2016 Tacoma netted about 10 mpg and pulling it with my Sequoia resulted in around 12 mpg. Neither of those numbers was conducive to the cross country treks we'd like to take. With my recent modifications to the Sequoia I'm getting 18 mpg now in mixed driving conditions vs the EPA estimated 16 city / 17 hwy. I'm hoping something as small and light as these trailers won't drag that number down too far. On a positive note the CFO of the household (aka The Wife) approved the purchase of one of these trailers tonight...as soon as our house sells. Motivation for me to get that honey-do list done and get this place on the market.

Thanks @ArkansasDon for bringing this trailer to my attention.
 
I am about an 1.5 hours from there. I like those trailers. Looking through the gallery, I saw someone put a wall in the back of the Overland trailer and turn the back area into the kitchen or storage area. Very nice looking trailers. I don't mind taking a road trip to go check them out.
 
They said about 150 days turn round time, build to order. That doesn't bother me. I like the fact they want a phone call when placing the order so they can go over everything with you for a full on understanding what we want. We would go with Dark Earth Tan or something close to Coyote Tan with black out Black on the diamond plate, fenders & frame & spare tire mount on the back swing out door. The extras will cost Sally & I more in the initial cost.
 
Keep in mind that for off road use almost anything they use to black out the material is going to get rock/gravel damage and chip. That wouldn't particularly bother me...kind of like rock rails...that's what they are there for...to take some abuse.

Congrats for pulling the trigger on the trailer...the build will be fun to watch.
 
We're looking at teardrops as we move away from roof top tents too. I've sold off my tent and trailer and I've honed down our camping gear a bit. Our setup was just getting too large and complicated. @Scott B. and his setup were a huge influence for making the move. Being able to pull up somewhere and almost instantly be done with setup has some huge appeal. Our full setup was quite heavy as well and weighed on our fuel economy. This Wrangler X is the lightest thing I've seen on the market thus far.

Don't go blaming me! :p It was Laura who really wanted the teardrop. She did not like the idea of needing a ladder with the RTT.

In all seriousness, we really like the TD - it is a game changer. Quick setup, comfortable and dry. Warn in the winter too.

Last fall, while transitioning to my new job in Huntsville, I slept in the teardrop for 32 nights. All in all, a very useful vehicle.
 
Don
The main disadvantage I see with both RTTs and tear drops is the hands and knees BS. You have good building skills. You might consider a Cargo trailer conversion. Look at where you will be realistically hauling your trailer, would a CT work? I built a 6x10 CT on 31s. I have hauled mine on off camber jeep and atv trails. It is probably more tippy than a low tear drop, but I've never tipped it, and I can stand up in the middle of the night!

edit, just reread, looks like you already bought
 
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Al, have any pictures of yours? I am open to ideas.
The country I travel for disperse camping is deep country dirty roads that usually have wash outs, narrow one laners, steep rough roads that are accessible w\o the high risk of danger. As of off camber traveling? NO. Sally & I like to camp in deep bear hunting country were we like to scout for new future bear hunting spots. We are not your typical main dirt roaders.
 
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Sorry for the delay, just saw this again...I had a build thread but lost all the photos to Photobucket. These are the only (2) I could find. CT has no lift. After this pic, I added large aluminum "jeep style" fenders and 31" tires. I built cabinets in the front, added an electrical system, awning and spare tire mount. It has an insulated FRP ceiling and vinyl flooring. Electric fan vent. Coincidentally, painted the same shade as my kitchen at home. I use an army bed which when folded up allows me to put my RZR inside. It has plenty of standing room

taj15.jpg


taj1.jpg
 
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Been pondering the fact of selling my trailer & purchase a tear drop style trailer. I found a company in Florida that builds a tear drop style overland trailer out of "all" aluminum. The wife & I like what we see & have had a few phone calls. The Wrangler X is what we are looking at.
http://www.weeroll.com/off-roadI'll hang on to my current trailer until I get this one.
View attachment 38248
I liked that trailer so much, I decided to look more into it! I ended up calling them and ordered my own.. very excited. After looking at their site and speaking with the owner, the decision became SO much easier to pull the trigger and leave a deposit with them. In 3-4 months I'll have my own WeeRoll Wrangler X.. painted to match my Jeep!

Chris
 
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